Affective picture processing: The late positive potential is modulated by motivational relevance

Recent studies have shown that the late positive component of the event-rel ated-potential (ERP) is enhanced for emotional pictures, presented in an od dball paradigm, evaluated as distant from an established affective context. In other research, with context-free, random presentation, affectively int ense pictures (pleasant and unpleasant) prompted similar enhanced ERP late positivity (compared with the neutral picture response). In an effort to re concile interpretations of the late positive potential (LPP), ERPs to rando mly ordered pictures were assessed, but using the faster presentation rate, brief exposure (1.5 s), and distinct sequences of six pictures, as in stud ies using an oddball based on evaluative distance. Again, results showed la rger LPPs to pleasant and unpleasant pictures, compared with neutral pictur es. Furthermore, affective pictures of high arousal elicited larger LPPs th an less affectively intense pictures. The data support the view that late p ositivity to affective pictures is modulated both by their intrinsic motiva tional significance and the evaluative context of picture presentation.